The trend of southern states netting larger numbers of one-way U-Haul® customers continued during 2024, with South Carolina topping the U-Haul Growth Index for the first time. Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee round out the five leading growth states. California experienced the greatest net loss of do-it-yourself movers in U-Haul equipment and ranks 50th for the fifth consecutive year.
Growth rankings are configured by each state’s net gain (or loss) of customers utilizing one-way U-Haul Equipment in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® moving container transactions that occur annually.
“State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time,” stated John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president. “Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state. Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California.
“U-Haul continues to expand its network, rental fleet and self-storage footprint so that wherever people move in 2025, we will be there to meet their needs,” he added.
South Carolina climbed three spots in the rankings to unseat Texas, which was the No. 1 growth state for the previous three years (2021-23). Of all the U-Haul movers coming and going from the Palmetto State in 2024, more than 51.7% were arrivals.
Texas has ranked first or second among U-Haul Growth States each year since 2016. Florida has been fourth or higher every year since 2015.
New York, at No. 47 on the list, has its lowest growth ranking in a decade.
Oklahoma (+30), Indiana (+19) and Maine (+18) are the biggest risers year-over-year on the U-Haul Growth Index. Colorado (-31), Nevada (-24), Wyoming (-22) and New Mexico (-21) saw the biggest slides in 2024.
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1. |
SOUTH CAROLINA (4) |
|
2. |
TEXAS (1) |
|
3. |
NORTH CAROLINA (3) |
|
4. |
FLORIDA (2) |
|
5. |
TENNESSEE (5) |
|
6. |
ARIZONA (8) |
|
7. |
WASHINGTON (7) |
|
8. |
INDIANA (27) |
|
9. |
UTAH (13) |
|
10. |
IDAHO (6) |
|
11. |
OKLAHOMA (41) |
|
12. |
ARKANSAS (17) |
|
13. |
MAINE (31) |
|
14. |
OHIO (23) |
|
15. |
GEORGIA (18) |
|
16. |
ALABAMA (22) |
|
17. |
VIRGINIA (10) |
|
18. |
MINNESOTA (20) |
|
19. |
SOUTH DAKOTA (19) |
|
20. |
VERMONT (12) |
|
21. |
DELAWARE (15) |
|
22. |
WISCONSIN (26) |
|
23. |
IOWA (24) |
|
24. |
MONTANA (21) |
|
25. |
KENTUCKY (29) |
|
26. |
HAWAII (25) |
|
27. |
ALASKA (34) |
|
28. |
MISSOURI (28) |
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29. |
NEBRASKA (35) |
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30. |
WEST VIRGINIA (30) |
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31. |
NORTH DAKOTA (32) |
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32. |
KANSAS (33) |
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33. |
NEW HAMPSHIRE (40) |
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34. |
OREGON (37) |
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35. |
NEVADA (11) |
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36. |
WYOMING (14) |
|
37. |
NEW MEXICO (16) |
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38. |
RHODE ISLAND (36) |
|
39. |
MISSISSIPPI (39) |
|
40. |
COLORADO (9) |
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41. |
CONNECTICUT (42) |
|
42. |
MARYLAND (44) |
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43. |
MICHIGAN (46) |
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44. |
LOUISIANA (45) |
|
45. |
ILLINOIS (48) |
|
46. |
PENNSYLVANIA (38) |
|
47. |
NEW YORK (43) |
|
48. |
NEW JERSEY (47) |
|
49. |
MASSACHUSETTS (49) |
|
50. |
CALIFORNIA (50) |
In a press release, U-Haul noted that rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, but that the U-Haul Growth Index remains an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents. "U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces," it further states. "The geographical coverage from 23,000-plus U-Haul rental locations provides a broad overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry."
Further Reading: